Rose and Lula

Monday, December 3, 2012

I've been working with the very lovely and professional Libby Heasman of the Crimson Pear who's implemented my design into wordpress. I'm so pleased with the results as she's made the site exactly how I hoped it would look, plus she's been so great to work with.

This feels like a big move for me in more ways than one. I'm leaving my little blogger home and settling down into my new wordpress pad. It feels more professional to have my new design which reflects how rose and lula feels to me. Plus there's a new shop!! I'm stacking the shelves furiously.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Well I'm back from my dash to London and Holly Becker'sDecorate Workshopbook launch. This was my first time at a book launch and my first time meeting blogging people and I was really nervous as I climbed the stairs to the event. These nerves weren't helped when I saw there were lots of people who seemingly already knew each other.Eeek! I loitered on the outskirts of the group for a little while and then decided to make a plunge into the group. Thankfully there was a face I recognised so I happily walked towards her, so pleased and gushy as it wasSusannah Conway! I was so happy to meet her and she is as lovely and natural in real life as in her courses and blog. Can you tell it was the highlight of my evening?

Soon the event started and we took a seat. Holly and Will from Bright Bazaar opened the floor with an interview about the book. Holly is the sole author of Decorate Workshop and spoke excitedly about the book and the work that went into producing it. She was natural and down to earth and as the audience I think we all felt included in the conversation. Their interview was very informative, especially about styling different homes.

I couldn't buy the book at the event as it's so big it wouldn't fit in my hand luggage on the plane. But it's a gorgeous book and jam packed with information, written in Holly's friendly voice and I will be placing an order with Amazon soon!

My heart is still a-flutter at meeting these ladies and going to my first book launch. From left to right, Holly Becker, me and Susannah Conway.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

It's exciting times here at rose & lula, with a new blog design coming soon as well as an online shop! I have about 1000 things I need to learn about product photography, SEO, google analytics, sewing processes, making a logo and business cards (and that's just off the top of my head).

My online shop will be on Big Cartel. I think (hope) it's a great way to get started without spending a fortune each month (my plan is 9.99 USD/month) but they even have a free plan.

Here are 10 gorgeous shops I found which are using Big Cartel as their shopping cart platform:

Crumbs. This site is a real visual treat. The gorgeous photography gives a floaty, romantic feel to the site. It feels quite anthropologie inspired. Plus 10% of the proceeds of sales goes to help children through global giving. Yes!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Hello my lovelies, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We did quite a lot of pootling around which was unusual and lovely.

Today is a very exciting day as I get to hop on a plane and go to London (just going on a plane by myself these days is enough to make me shriek with joy :). But that is not all... Tomorrow is Holly Becker's Decorate Workshop book launch at Anthropologie Regent Street and I am going to meet Holly before the official event!! Holly very kindly invited her Blogging Your Way students to come along for a little meet up and so I jumped at the chance.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hello everyone! Today I thought I'd share with you some before and after shots of my studio. Honestly I have no idea how I could get work done with the former set up.

I'm lucky to have my own dedicated space for rose & lula fun. The kids wanted to share a bedroom (this room used to be Livia's) so we wholeheartedly encouraged them as it meant recuperating a sewing room for me!

It's a small and awkwardly shaped space with a long corridor, but a great view onto Mont Blanc.

Here's the long corridor (taken with my back to the window):

I am really really happy with how this turned out. Thanks to Ikea I was able to hang up all my fabric on hangers without eating too much into the corridor. So if you come over for some custom orders we can easily mix and match fabrics without upsetting a pile of fabric. Plus I love how it feels a bit like a shop!

Here's the view into the studio, standing in the corridor:

Again, lots of Ikea here. I love the Expedit for display, letting the colours of products speak for themselves. I've sorted the fabric scraps by colour and put them in white pots on top of the unit. I've also hung shelving on the wall, for displaying buttons and baskets.

Bleurgh, now brace yourselves, here's how not to have things on display with Expedit shelves :) Yuk, I'm amazed I managed to create anything in here!

I'm really happy with my improvised cutting table - it's two small Expedit shelves together. I put feet on the bottom to make it a comfortable level for cutting fabric, and I have a big cutting mat. I'm thinking in the future, if I have rolls of fabric, they'll fit well in the cubbies below. This will also be the packing station, so I've added lots of drawers for all the packaging bits I'll need. Next to the drawers I've added a small wardrobe for unpretty clutter I can close the doors on.

Lastly, here's my sewing table. I actually loved this table as it was our old dining table, but the new handy drawers didn't fit underneath, gah. Please excuse the mess. I'm being honest with you here folks and showing you a messy studio!

I already had the metal board on the right for holding scissors etc and it's really practical. I especially like to keep the scissors up high in case the kids come in and start playing - my fabric scissors are very sharp! I'm going to cover the new desk top with oil cloth to add a bit of colour, and I'll put up a moodboard or inspiration board in front of the sewing machine. I love having so many drawers to keep everything in order.

I must say I feel 100 times more creative since sorting out my studio. Everything has its place and I like how the furniture is neutral and the pop comes from the fabrics.

If you have a creative space, feel free to link to it below so we can all go get inspired.

I'm getting ready for Christmas fairs as well as the shop opening (yikes!). These padded, zip pouches are just the right size for a phone, keys and other essential bits that get lost in the bottom of our handbags.

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About Me

Hello! My name is Micala. My big dream is to have a successful handmade sewing business. In this blog I write about my journey setting up and running Rose and Lula, all the while trying to balance two young children, a hard-working husband and a rather hairy dog with my thoroughly enticing sewing machine.